A message from Santa

Thank-you for coming to visit me in my Woodland Hideaway. The baby Christmas tree I gave you is a seedling of Norway Spruce. It comes from Norway, which is near to where I spend most of my time in Lapland. Because it is used to the cold weather, it can go outside straight away. If you’d like to keep it indoors for a few days a cool room or on a windowsill would be best, but take off the ribbon and polythene bag and stand the pot on a plate or saucer. Move it to a sheltered corner of the garden within a couple of weeks. It won’t start growing until the weather warms up in April or May and at that time you can either plant it in the ground or transfer it to a larger pot. Coolings Professional compost is best for your tree. Keep it well-watered and make sure it doesn’t dry out over the summertime.

When your tree is as old as I am, it will be very big and may become too large for your garden. When your tree is as tall as you, it can have a “hair cut”! Ask a grown-up to help cut off the top 5cm of the tip of the tree and 5cm off any of the longer side branches. New shoots will grow from lower down to help make the tree more bushy. If your tree starts to become too big, it can be trimmed again. Normally once every two or three years will do, although you can trim it as often as once a year. June or July is probably the best time to do this.

If you grow your tree in a pot, it will grow more slowly than in the ground and will need regular watering through the warmer months to make sure it does not dry out. Start off with a one litre/12cm pot for its first year and next year it can be potted up to a three litre/18cm pot. After that it will need to be re-potted only every other year. If it starts to grow too large, it can be trimmed as explained above.

That should get you started but if you ever need any help with your tree or any other garden plants, do come and speak to one of the lovely garden experts at Coolings Green & Pleasant who will be able to help you.

I ho-ho-hope you enjoy growing your baby Christmas tree, come back next year and let me know how you get on!